Many packaging applications use resealable containers to store various types of articles and materials. These packages may be used to store and ship food products, non-food consumer goods, medical supplies, waste materials, and many other articles. Resealable packages are convenient in that they can be closed and resealed after the initial opening to preserve the enclosed contents. The need to locate a storage container for the unused portion of the products in the package is thus avoided. As such, providing products in resealable packages appreciably enhances the marketability of those products.
Resealable packages typically utilize a closure mechanism that is positioned along the mouth of the package. The closure mechanism often comprises profile elements or closure profiles that engage one another when pressed together. Typically a slider device used for opening the closure mechanism is attached to the closure mechanism while the closure profiles are disengaged. This facilitates filling of the package with product after the slider is attached. However, attaching the slider to a closure mechanism in an open state results in difficulty in handling and aligning the pair of closure profiles during manufacturing. If the slider device is attached to the closure mechanism while the closure mechanism is closed, the closure mechanism must be opened before the package can be filled. Prior methods of opening the closure mechanism, including manually opening the closure mechanism, have proved to be inefficient from a manufacturing standpoint.
It is therefore desirable to attach the slider device to the closure mechanism while the closure mechanism is in a closed state, and to provide a method and apparatus for automatically opening the closure mechanism after the slider device has been attached. Alternately, the slider device may be attached after the closure mechanism has been opened. Further, the opening methods and apparatus of the present invention can be applied to a closure mechanism without a slider, such as a traditional “press-to-close” zipper.